Born in Chicago in 1992, Karlie Kloss spent most of her young life in St. Louis, Missouri. Performance must be in her blood, because she shone as a talented young dancer before taking over the modeling world at just 15 years of age.

She was discovered at a charity fashion show in St. Louis, and encouraged to model by her supportive parents and mentors.

In 2007, at 15, Kloss signed with the renowned agency Elite, and within three months she had starred in two Teen Vogue editorials and debuted as a Calvin Klein exclusive at New York Fashion Week.

Shortly following her New York debut, Kloss walked another exclusive, this time for Gucci in Milan, and then went on the free market in Paris booking shows like Valentino, Chloe, Alexander McQueen and Viktor & Rolf.

In her first season out, Style.com included her on their always-telling list of rising star models.

After that first editorial in Teen Vogue, she ended up featured in four consecutive issues. It was Amy Astley and her team that gave Kloss her first cover in February of 2008, which she starred in alongside Chanel Iman and Ali Michael.

The following months saw her walk for the most exclusive designers, and working with photographers like Patrick Demarchelier and model-maker Steven Meisel.

At 16, she controversially made the move over to Next Models. Elite, her former agency, sued Next for poaching Kloss, and accused the agency of offering her improper compensation.

Seemingly unphased by the drama, Kloss continued to dominate both the catwalk and the pages of the world’s best magazines including Numero, W and American, British and Italian Vogues.

In early 2009, she became one of the faces of Dolce & Gabbana, and fronted the campaign for Marc Jacobs’ fragrance, Lola.

She developed a good working relationship with American Vogue, quickly joining Caroline Trentini as one of the regular editorial models, even starring in two editorials in the June issue.

She was featured as one of fashion’s favorite faces, having captured the attention of greats like Steven Meisel and Arthur Elgort.

Other noteworthy campaigns have included YSL Cosmetics, Hermes, and Christian Dior, and Kloss continues to be one of the most in demand models in the world.